Contribution of Forestry to Poverty Alleviation - APFNet

domestic demand of traditional medicine is rapidly increasing to meet the requirements of the country’s
increasing population. However, the increasing number of rural households harvesting medicinal plants
to generate cash income has caused serious concern about the conservation and sustainable use of
medicinal plants of the country.
Chirata is one of the main sources of income of the farmers of the remote villages of Shingkhar Lauri.
In 1998, 70 households in Shingkhar Lauri geog were depending on chirata as a source of income
(Pradhan et. al. 1998). The villagers harvested naturally-growing chirata that they sold to traders from
India, although RGoB recently started to operate the auction of chirata. In recent years, the resource
base is depleting. Respondents for this case study claim that 15 years ago, it was possible to produce at
least 20 metric tonnes of chirata annually, but the production now is less than five metric tonnes. The
factors causing the depletion of the resource base of chirata are:
• Ban on shifting cultivation (tseri) since 1993 to prevent the loss of forests and degradation
of environment. Slash and burn agriculture is not allowed as fire under certain conditions
usually escapes from the farmland into the forests. According to farmers, however, fire
enhances the growth of chirata that grows in shifting cultivation land.
• Increasing number of collectors leading to over-exploitation
• Premature harvesting, thus, reducing the capacity for natural regeneration
• Lack of appropriate drying techniques and facilities
• Difficulties in transportation and marketing
Site description
Lauri geog is one of the remotest geogs in the Samdup Jongkhar Dzongkhag in the far eastern section
of Bhutan. The geog is a distance of three days walk from Jomotshangkha Dzongkhag, the nearest road
and market access point. The geog has 13 villages with a total of 539 households and a population of
4,303 people. The villages selected for this case study are Dungmanba, Momring, and Zangthi. The
geog covers an area of about 27,800 ha, with an elevation ranging from 1,200 to 3,500 masl and heavy
rainfall during the monsoon season (June-August). Shingkhar Lauri is rich in medicinal herbs like
chirata, and star anise (Illicium griffithii). Chirata is widely grown in almost all of the villages of Lauri
geog. It grows in association with other native vegetation in open and dry areas of degraded broadleaf
forests, such as tseri land, fallow dry land, and grazing areas. It grows more abundantly in tseri land
than in private agriculture land because the plants survive fire, and the seeds that are buried deep in the
soil germinate once tseri is cleared.
In the villages of Dungmanba, Momring, and Zangthi, chirata is collected from different areas, mainly
found in forests (mostly broadleaf) with less dense vegetation, in open and dry areas in rocky areas, and
in steep slopes. Of the three villages, Zangthi has the highest density of chirata with 12 kg dry weight
per ha (the average of the whole area is nine kg per ha).
Economic importance of chirata
Farming practices at Shingkhar Lauri are evolving from the tsheri (shifting cultivation) system toward
permanent agriculture. Because of the ban on shifting cultivation, tsheri is being converted into other
uses such as wetland, orchard, and dry land cultivation. Agriculture, livestock rearing, and forestry
related activities are major components of the farming system in the geog. The main agricultural crops
are maize, foxtail millet, and wheat. Maize is the staple food with both local and improved varieties
grown in the geog. Since wetland is limited, paddy cultivation is confined to a small scale. Local cattle
dominate cattle population with only few improved breeds.
Traditional harvesting of chirata
Collection in each village is governed by well-defined community rules and regulations. The villagers
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